I would venture to say that 99% of what is talked about on talkbass would go completely unnoticed by a live audience.
Yes, but not everyone is playing for the live audience at a bar.
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Carvin SB5000 / SB4000 Roll Call!
- Thread starter phillm47
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Yes, but not everyone is playing for the live audience at a bar.
I also found KayCee's video very helpful. I really like that single coil sound but would be concerned about the noise potential. In a live setting, I agree that most of the audience and often our own band mates pay little attention to these tonal nuances that are important to us as bass players but I think it is noticed whether our sound sits well in the mix or not and helps us play better when we like what we hear.
So, if you would choose the J99A single coils for a recording session I wonder if playing a set of H50A in a live setting through a cab with dedicated mid driver like the fEarful 15/6/1 would provide a voicing bias toward that single coil sound? The 18Sound 6ND410 mid adds a smooth but strong presence in that 2-4kHz upper mid/low treble band which seems to be a signature of that single coil sound.
So, if you would choose the J99A single coils for a recording session I wonder if playing a set of H50A in a live setting through a cab with dedicated mid driver like the fEarful 15/6/1 would provide a voicing bias toward that single coil sound? The 18Sound 6ND410 mid adds a smooth but strong presence in that 2-4kHz upper mid/low treble band which seems to be a signature of that single coil sound.
I would venture to say that 99% of what is talked about on talkbass would go completely unnoticed by a live audience.
Thank you, sir!
so would 99% of live music. Most audiences nowadays would rather hear the original recording but that doesn't stop us from pursuing our love of music. The "audience can't hear it anyway" is a strawman's argument IMO... It's what *I* hear that's important to *ME*.
Thanks. It's always a difficult decision. Nothing sounds as good as single coils IMO but dimarzio seems to have great technology. Their virtual single coil pickups sound great. Not exactly the same as singles but not muddy like stacks...The ultra jazz aren't technically virtual vintage pickups but utilize some similar technology.
I totally understand. What do you think about Nordstrand hum-cancelling jazz pu's. I'm thinking about placing an order for a SB5000 this week any suggestions?
I think they are similar in principal to dimarzio ultras. I'm sure they are great pickups but so are the dimarIos
That audience got me through college. Helped me pay off my car. Pissed me off some nights but really cheered me up many other nights when I needed it. Without the audience, I'd just be dinking around with a guitar and some computer software in my apartment. This can be cool but also pretty lonely and will never be as gratifying as seeing a bunch of strangers get down on the dance floor and having a good time courtesy of my band and my ratty old bass. I get a kick out of bass gear, talking shop, and trolling the guitar stores. I've yanked out the bridge and pickups and hardware of some of my older basses. I've obsessed over US made gear and resale value of some of that gear. I don't know, maybe I'm just getting old and farty. All that sh** is so unimportant to me now. A good axe, amp, cable, decent sound tech, a hungry audience and a beer and I’ve got all I need. But hey, this is what's important to *ME* and what the hell do I know? So buy a brand new bass then immediately rip out the pickups. Why not throw in a new preamp, pop in new tuners, strip the finish too and redo it with nitrocellulose, what the heck. In the meanwhile, I’ll just plug in, play, hopefully bring the house down, get paid and do it again the following weekend. Be it on a strip down Carvin or a $9,000 Alembic; it won’t really matter.
That's *your* experience and your choice to judge sound by. My experience was playing with incredible jazz musicians for audiences who wanted to hear smoke on the water or def lepard or other stuff. We had good experiences opening for Chick Corea and playing at Blues Alley but 99% of my playing experiences were in front of drunks and obnoxious patrons. I personally don't give much credence to what they hear or don't hear. They are listening to lady gaga afterall...
Such distain for people who pay to hear live music? Little wonder DJs and karaoke bars do so well with that attitude.
Sorry, you have it backwards. Disco drove the live music away. In the '80s folks thought it was cool to dance to DJ's. Sorry I don't live to play for drunken patrons and in tawdry bars. In cleveland, you either play '60s blues, hardcore or classic rock. None of which float my boat. I'm not entitled to my opinion without belittlement?!? Gotta love this place...
Drunken patrons? Sounds like someone needs to step off thier high horse and give some credit to the people who still enjoy live music.
Sounds like u should step off ur high horse and respect that we have different perspectives
Geez can we just cut the acerbic opinions?
I want to hear if anybody has installed aftermarket pickups in the SB yet.... I know the stock pickups are worlds better than the types I had to deal with in my older Carvin's... But still, it'd be nice to know what a Nordstrand would do in an SB for example.
I want to hear if anybody has installed aftermarket pickups in the SB yet.... I know the stock pickups are worlds better than the types I had to deal with in my older Carvin's... But still, it'd be nice to know what a Nordstrand would do in an SB for example.
That will not be happening with my SB. I think it sounds way too good as is with the J99A's to even think about it.
Yes, but not everyone is playing for the live audience at a bar.
Don't want this to derail the thread topic, but there are a lot of ridiculous arguments on here sometimes.
People nearly get into fist fights over the tone difference when running strings through the body vs the back of the bridge.
In reality, it doesn't make a difference. Hand Victor Wooten a squire precision, and he will still sound and play like Victor Wooten.
Hand me a Fodera, and I still won't sound like Victor Wooten.
My point: It's probably better to spend more time practicing than talking about gear. Wouldn't you agree?
Ahhh yes...the good and bad of TalkBass! Ya gotta love it! Arguing over tone and personal preference...it is the beauty of free speech. You can't be wrong discussing either, yet someone will always try to disprove that!
So, back to the SB's...I really dig the new pickups. I think they are the best thing to come out of Carvin in a long time. As far as the noise, I rarely solo one pickup, at most I'll favor a 60/40 split either way depending on what the song needs.
I watched Kaycee's video and noticed a difference in the SC's vs. the HC's but in a band setting I doubt that anyone would hear the difference, or care for that matter.
I have played the DiMarzio Ultra J's that Jack is talking about and they are excellent pickups. I was also impressed with the new EMG Jazz pickups that Ed Friedland demo'd on youtube...I'm not sure if those were SC or HC, but they sounded great and I HATE EMG's...LOL!
Continue on brothers of the deep end...
Another possible replacement pickup for the J99a's that I have heard people rave about are the new EMG JA's. They are EMGs' new active alnico magnet pickups.. i have heard they "REALLLLY do that jazz bass thing" they would be dead quiet- Also, for those of you who are looking at the DiMarzio ultra jazz, you might want to check out the new Dimarzio Area J. This pickup will give you a much more traditional "round defined" finger funk jazz bass tone and you can dial a really good slap tone with them too, with absolutely no hum, as they are hum cancelling. I tried them recently on another bass and was really impressed... i liked them more than the ultra Jazz... Luckily, i haven't had any hum problems with my J99a's!
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